色彩模型是描述使用一组值（通常使用三个、四个值或者颜色成分）表示颜色方法的抽象数学模型。例如三原色光模式（RGB） 和印刷四分色模式（CMYK） 都是色彩模型。但是一个与绝对色彩空间没有函数映射关系的色彩模型或多或少地都是与特定应用要求几乎没有关系的任意色彩系统。

在色彩模型和一个特定的参照色彩空间之间加入一个特定的映射函数就在参照色彩空间中出现了一个明确的"footprint"。这个"footprint"称为色域，并且与色彩模型一起定义为一个新的色彩空间。例如Adobe RGB和sRGB是两个基于RGB模型的不同绝对色彩空间。

A color space is a specific organization of colors. In combination with physical device profiling, it allows for reproducible representations of color, in both analog and digital representations. A color space may be arbitrary, with particular colors assigned to a set of physical color swatches and corresponding assigned names or numbers such as with the Pantone collection, or structured mathematically, as with NCS System, Adobe RGB or sRGB. A color model is an abstract mathematical model describing the way colors can be represented as tuples of numbers (e.g. triples in RGB or quadruples in CMYK); however, a color model with no associated mapping function to an absolute color space is a more or less arbitrary color system with no connection to any globally understood system of color interpretation. Adding a specific mapping function between a color model and a reference color space establishes within the reference color space a definite "footprint", known as a gamut, and for a given color model this defines a color space. For example, Adobe RGB and sRGB are two different absolute color spaces, both based on the RGB color model. When defining a color space, the usual reference standard is the CIELAB or CIEXYZ color spaces, which were specifically designed to encompass all colors the average human can see.